The 8th Horcrux
The 8th Horcrux is a wizard rock band from Ottawa, Kansas. The group specializes in parodies of familiar songs, adding a Harry Potter twist. In 2009, the band released their debut album, [[Potterwatch!|''Potterwatch!]], selling all copies in less than three weeks. In late 2010, the band released ''Accio Awesome to similar critical and commercial success. The band recently released 100 copies of their third album, Noize From the Cupboard in the summer of 2011. Critically, the band has been a succes, receiving praise from the students of Ottawa High School, various Kansas libraries, local newspapers, radio stations, websites, and wizard rock reviewers. To date, the band has released three full-length albums, three EPs, one live album and one compilation album. History Origins The 8th Horcrux, or, more specifically, the album Potterwatch!, began after Thomas happened to stumble upon the genre of 'Wizard Rock.' Inspired by this new found music style, and the then-recent Harry Potter movie, Thomas, and fellow friend and musician, Trina Sieg, began working on a wrock-themed album slated to be released by Thomas' older (and now defunct) band Famosiz. The idea of releasing the album under the Famosiz name was soon dropped, and the two took a new name. Dubbing themselves “The 8th Horcrux,” they became a parody band, much in the vein of “Weird Al” Yankovic, which devoted the entirety of its content to anything relating to the Harry Potter series. "Potterwatch!" (2009) The band immediately got to work planning. After a few months of writing and recording, the band whittled their ideas to several key parodies of hit songs by The Lonely Island, Flobots, Meredith Brooks, My Chemical Romance, The Beatles, blink-182, Bowling for Soup, Alien Ant Farm, The Who, Green Day. In the final stages of recording, the Green Day parody ("The Chosen One" a parody of "Know Your Enemy") and the blink-182 parody ("The Yule Ball" a parody of "The Rock Show") were shelved for the bands sophomore album. Several other parodies were added, including a Gym Class Heroes parody and a Bloodhound Gang parody. On October 22, the band released their debut album, Potterwatch! The album was a surprise hit. The band had pressed 100 copies, and within three weeks, almost every copy was sold. The band received praise from many of the students of Ottawa High School and was even featured in the schools newspaper.Shannon, Jack. "The 8th Horcrux" The Review. 3 Nov. 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2011. "Accio Awesome" (2010) In December of 2009, the band began working on their second album, titled Accio Awesome. Information leaked in August 2010 stated that the album would feature 15 song parodies, including the missing Green Day and blink-182 parodies and a re-recording of the older "1985" Bowling for Soup parody. On August 28th, the band released two songs, "In the Pensieve" and the new version of "Privet Drive" on their Myspace. In October, the band confirmed that the album would be available for purchase via the internet. The album was released on November 3, 2010, selling dozens of copies on the first day of release. To promote the album, the band held a series of events, including a show at the local library. Eventually, the band was featured in Ottawa's newspaper.Ottawa Herald Staff. "Parody performance" OttawaHerald.com. 16 Nov. 2010. Retrieved 17 Nov. 2010.Ottawa Herald Staff. "Things To Do, Nov. 13-Nov. 15" OttawaHerald.com. 13 Nov. 2010. Retrieved 17 Nov. 2010. In late November, the band released their entire discography onto Bandcamp and they also made their newest album available via PayPal until it sold out. Tour and "Noize From the Cupboard" (2011) On March 11, the band co-headlined the Trifecta of Awesome tour in Ottawa. Later that month, the band participated in the Ottawa Spring Fling Battle of the Bands and finished in 5th Place. On April 16, The 8th Horcrux released two EPs, I Love Hogwarts and We R Death EateRs, for free to celebrate Record Store Day. The former were tangibly available at Kief's Records and the Love Garden (both in Lawrence, KS) and the latter was available on Bandcamp. In the spring of 2011, the band once again regrouped to record their third album, titled Noize From the Cupboard. The album was released on the first of July. Noize From the Cupboard was released on Bandcamp and could be purchased physically through PayPal. The band also announced a summer tour, referred to as the "Mini-Summer Tour Extravaganza" on the band's Facebook page, which hit various libraries and bookstores across Kansas.The 8th Horcrux. "The 8th Horcrux's Reverb Page" ReverbNation.com. 1 Feb. 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011. During this time, the band was also nominated for Best Album (2010's Accio Awesome) and Best Female Vocals in the preliminary rounds for the wizard rock award show the Wizzies.Holden, Brett. "The Wizzies" Facebook.com. 22 May 2011. Retrieved 24 Sept. 2011. However, the band did not make it any further than the preliminary round. On July 28, the band participated in the Louisburg Battle of the Bands and came in at First Place. In celebration of over 300 Facebook likes on the band's page, the band released the Pottermost! EP for free on their Bandcamp in August. On September 18, the band revealed that it was working on a live album recorded during the "Mini-Summer Tour Extravaganza." The album was released on September 26, the day of Paul's birthday.Thomas, Paul. "Live Album" Facebook.com. 18 Sept. 2011. Retrieved 24 Sept. 2011. Fourth Album In early January, the band began releasing singles from their soon-to-be-released fourth album, tentatively scheduled to be released in mid-2012. The first single, "If You Wanna Rock at Quidditch," was released on January 13, and the second single was "Crabbe and Goyle," released on January 28. On April 21, the band released a free EP, titled "Happy Record Store Day", which included "If You Wanna Rock at Quidditch" and "Crabble and Goyle", as well as a demo of their song "Kreacher". Critical reception Critical reception the The 8th Horcrux has been largely positive. After the release of Potterwatch! and Accio Awesome onto Bandcamp, Wrock Snob, noted wizard rock reviewer, described The 8th Horcrux's music as "very competent parodies."Snob, Wrock. "Wrock Snob's November Twitter Feed" Twitter.com. 25 Nov. 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2011. After the release of the band's third album, Noize From the Cupboard, several local bands helped promote the band, including the Ottawa-based Ottawa Herald and the St. Jospeh newspaper News-Press.Newton, Allysha D. (14 July 2011). "'Potter' Fans Prepare for the End". The Ottawa Herald (Ottawa, KS).Conner, Shea. (July 2011). A rock show for Harry Potter fans. News-PressNow.com (St. Joseph, KS). In addition, Wizarding Life Magazine, an online wizarding-magazine, later described the band as "wrock-parody-makers extraordinaire" in an article about Noize from the Cupboard.Courtney. "The 8th Horcrux: New Album for Pre-order" Wizarding Life. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011. College radio station KWCW 90.5 FM was "delighted" to discover the band and described the band's music as "damn good."Rasmussen, Sara (7 Jan. 2012). "MORE Wrock Wrenditions!". Tumblr.com. The band has had its share of minor controversy. The song "Why'd Ya Do It, JK?" - a satirical commentary on the outing of Albus Dumbledore - was met with negative reviews by some individuals who claimed that the song was an attack on homosexuals.Snob, Wrock. "Whatever The Hell This Is, Part 1" Wrocksnob.com 9 Oct. 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2011. Paul Thoams and Trina Sieg have adamantly denied any sort of negative feelings, stating that the song is tongue-in-cheek and not to be taken literally. The band has since removed it from their MySpace and removed it from their Bandcamp site.The 8th Horcrux. "The 8th Horcrux's Bandcamp" Bandcamp.com. 17 Nov. 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2011. Discography Studio Albums *2009 - "Potterwatch!" *2010 - "Accio Awesome" *2011 - "Noize From the Cupboard" *2012 - "Ridiculously Wicked" Live Albums *2011 - "The 8th Horcrux Live" EPs *2011 - "I Love Hogwarts EP" *2011 - "We R Death EateRs EP" *2011 - "Pottermost! EP" *2012 - "Happy Record Store Day EP" Singles *"I'm On a Broom" - 2009 *"Witch" - 2009 *"I Love Hogwarts" - 2010 *"Privet Drive" - 2010 *"(Ginny's) Love Story" - 2010 *"Socks!" - 2010 *"In the Pensieve" - 2010 *"We R Death EateRs" - 2011 *"Horcruxes 2 Night" - 2011 *"Wizarding Skillz" - 2011 *"If You Wanna Rock at Quidditch" - 2012 *"Crabbe and Goyle" - 2012 Compilation Albums *2011 - "Expecto Patrohmygoodness" *TBA - "In the Pensieve" Compilation Appearances *"(Ginny's) Love Story)" - Love Letters From Hogwarts (Feb. 2011) *"Priori Incanatatem" - This Album is Not a Horcrux (July 2011) *"Romilda" - Wrock Hard Ditties (Sept. 2011) *"Viva la Voldemort" - A Hogwarts Halloween II (Oct. 2011) Associated Acts Paul Thomas was the former frontman for Famosiz before the band disbanded in 2011. In addition, Paul and Trina record other non-Harry Potter related music on the moniker "Paul and Trina." Their limited records can be downloaded from The 8th Horcrux's Bandcamp page. Currently, the band has recorded a cover of Sweet Diss and the Comebacks' cult hit "Dunder and Dwightning" and have written and recorded a parody of "Tonight, Tonight" by Hot Chelle Rae about Doctor Who. The side group currently has several song parodies scheduled for recording, including an ode to Lost and a Buffy the Vampire Slayer parody. References External links *The 8th Horcrux on Facebook *The 8th Horcrux on MySpace *The 8th Horcrux's YouTube Channel *The 8th Horcrux on Bandcamp *The 8th Horcrux on Wikipedia Category:Americans Category:Rock Artists Category:Comedy Category:The 8th Horcrux Category:Wizard Rock